Circle of Friends
by The Lanternkeeper
Summary: I'm a dog Anima, and my friend there is a snake. We've met some new friends, and now, we're hitting the road! Should be fun, right? minor OCxSenri Rated T for violence and brief language.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a kind of a redux of the main +Anima storyline, up until about the middle of the second book, but with some character personality changes, new characters, and new events put in. Enjoy!**

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I looked over the inside of the tent. It was big, and fairly dark. I searched for my friend, then realized that she wouldn't be on until 4:30, and it was only 3:45. For now, some exhibit called "The Mermaid Princess" was on display. I knew that she (or he, in disguise) was actually a fish +Anima, but I couldn't stand everyone drooling over her (him?), so I left for the time being. "Hmm..." I thought as I waited for 4:30 to come.

I almost decided to leave, when I heard the announcer say, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Serpentess!" I rushed inside to look at my friend, and she was there, all right. I called out to her, and she discreetly acknowledged me.

I almost didn't hear her say, "Meet me outside the tent after the show." I was standing in the front row, because I had reserved a seat there. I was amazed at her skill and finesse. She was amazing. She probably would have drowned in money if the ringmaster hadn't started filing people out. After a few more minutes, the show was over and I was outside. I rushed over to the circus members' tent, and found my friend, Gina, in there. I was so happy to see her, as we hadn't seen each other in about a year. After a brief hug and exchange of past occurrences, we got down to business.

"So," I asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was actually sold to the ringmaster by-"

"WHAT?! And he actually accepted you?! Why, I oughta..."

"Cyrus, calm down. I had a say in this, too, and I had no where else to go. I didn't even know what to do."

"Oh. I see. But, the real question is this: are you happy here?"

She sighed. "I don't know. The-"

"You don't know? It's a simple question! Are you happy here?"

"Well...no. No, I'm not. But what else can I do?"

"You can come with me. We'll have so much fun together! We can probably find other +Animas, and travel with them, too."

"Well, I don't know..." She said slowly.

"Please?" I asked in my pathetic little boy voice.

"Oh...fine."

"Yes!"

"We'll leave tomorrow, and that'll be that."

As soon as I said those words, we were attacked. The person(her/him) that was in the circus, and another boy with black hair jumped out of the bushes close to us.

A surprise attack! Gina and I were in our battle forms in no time flat. I felt my birthmark on the side of my head activate, and it all happened at once. My torso was immediately covered in shaggy, chocolate-colored fur, and all my limbs were five times stronger than before. My seeing changed a little, but my other senses were enhanced greatly. My teeth were slightly elongated, and my ears were pointed, like a German Shepherd Dog's.

At this point, if you guessed that my +Anima was a dog, then you'd be right.

Beside me, I saw Gina's +Anima being activated, too. Hers ran down her back, in an intricate, symmetrical pattern. (I knew this because she told me. I AM NOT A PERVERT!!) Her legs combined into a long slithery tail, and she became a sort of snake-human hybrid (Snake +Anima).

We were each squared up with an opponent. A tag-team duel! Fun! I smirked a little. "This is gonna be interesting."

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_**TO BE CONTINUED!!!**_

**Please rate and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, everybody!!! Here's the second chapter, so here it goes!**

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Me and Gina versus these two weird unknown kids. I was up against the black-haired boy, and Gina against the fish-person. I flew forward like a nut from a slingshot, slashing at the boy. I noticed that he had a birthmark in a swirly-ish shape on his shoulder. Soon after, he sprouted wings. Black wings. Most people would have been scared, and would have run away screaming, but I was made of tougher stuff. I would have slashed onward, except that he flew into the air. I gazed up at him, but he flew to the side of his friend. Must have had a change of heart about fighting me. I looked over at Gina, to see that she was looking at me, until the silver-haired child hit her on the head with his/her staff. I lost it then.

"YOU-EVIL-LITTLE-MONSTER!! HOW-DARE-YOU-HIT-A-GIRL-WHEN-SHE-ISN'T-EVEN-LOOKING!!" I yelled between slashes, which were blocked expertly, except for the last one, which was the hardest yet. I could see his weakness, and flew in for the final blow. "WRAAAAAAAAAAAA-" I was stopped in my attack, by my own friend. You see, my friend's snake venom isn't fatal, but it does cause temporary unconsciousness. Before I fell into the blissful abyss of sleep, I saw that she had done the same to the other person. I didn't even remember hitting the ground.

I woke up suddenly, and found myself in a bed, inside a comfortable house. I felt my forehead, and there were bandages. 'Where am I? Why am I here? What's with the bandages?' Such questions roamed around inside my mind, unchecked, and only causing more trouble for me. Just then, a girl rushed in. She seemed kind enough, so I decided to try and talk to her.

"Excuse me, miss?"

"Yes?" She had a beautiful voice, one that sounded like crystal chimes, expertly tuned.

"I was wondering if you could tell me something. Where am I?"

"Well, you're in the farmer's house, in the town of Abon." Abon? Where had I heard that before?

"Abon? As in, Abon weed, Abon? The town with that weird disease?"

"Yes," She said, just as calm as ever. "Oh! You need to have some Abon cuisine. It's divine, and it'll do you good."

"Ummmm...Okay?" I said slowly, as she took my hand, and dragged me out of bed and into a larger room. In it, there was a medium-sized table, with Gina, and the two people from earlier sitting at it. From the way they were all talking and laughing, it sounded like they could have known each other for their entire lives.

I cleared my throat tentatively. "Ahem." All of them looked at me, and smiled. I was invited to the table, and offered some food.

The black-haired boy was the first to speak since I had arrived. "Try it! It's really good!"

"Okay," I said slowly, as I tasted the food. "Wow! This stuff is amazing!" And before I knew it, the entire plate that was given to me was gone.

Gina spoke next. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Pretty confused. Why are you guys chatting with each other as if you've known each other forever?"

"Oh, well, you see, it was just a misunderstanding. We thought we heard you talking about attacking us earlier, so we thought we'd strike first." The silver-haired person said.

"Ah. I see. Now, I just have a few questions. What are your names? What are your +Anima's? And are you a boy or a girl?"

The black-haired person answered most of the questions. "I'm Cooro, and this is Husky. I'm a crow, and Husky's a fish. And Husky is a boy."

"Oh. All right then!" I would have asked more questions, if it hadn't been for a sudden explosion outside. "Whoa! What the hell was that?"

"I don't know, but we better go check it out! Let's go!" And we all ran outside.

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**What was the cause of the explosions? How will this be resolved? What the heck is wrong with Cyrus' head? All this and more to be revealed next time!**

**Rate and review, please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, everyone! I've been getting in a lot of computer time lately, so expect frequent updates for my stories. Let's begin.**

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I ran outside with my friends, and saw that a teenager in his late teens was being harassed by a gang. He had long gray hair, with blue beads in it. He wore an eyepatch, and his hair partially covered it.

One of the gang members shouted out, "You won't get the best of us this time, Anima punk!" Then they threw a net over him, and started to beat him. I watched in horror, until his arm transformed. It became hairy, and muscular. A bear +Anima? Maybe a wolf? I wasn't sure at all. I gazed in awe as he took on all five grunts. Only the leader was left, and I could sense his fear. He grabbed Husky, and raised his sword. "One more step, and this guy gets it!" he yelled threateningly. The teenager was nonplussed. He ran towards the leader, and was about to slash him to bits, until he fell backwards. I wondered what had caused it, but then I was that Cooro was overhead, with watermelons in tow.

"They're good! Want some more?" he said.

At that time, all of the gang members retreated, screaming "Black wings! That's bad luck! Run away!" Just then, a woman showed up, and said, "You still haven't taken this tiny village? Pitiful." A heated discussion started, but I didn't hear it, because I had to help get the teen some medical help. I took him back to the house that I had been at before, with the help of Cooro and Gina. Husky stayed behind to make sure that nothing important went unsaid or unheard.

At the house, I got to know the teenager. "So, what's your name?" I asked, in a friendly tone.

"...Senri..." was his reply. I could tell that he was a man of few words (or none at all), and very strong.

Later that day, it was decided that Gina, Husky, Cooro, and I would travel together, and, sadly, we had to leave Abon.

Once we were on the road, I asked, "So, what's with the bandages?"

They all seemed unsure of what to say, or how to say it, or even whether or not to tell me. "What's up? Just tell me. It can't be that bad."

Finally, Gina told me. "Well, when we got to Abon, you woke up, and started going berserk, slashing everything and anything that was near you. Senri came out and fought you, and you ended up with a head injury, sustaining some heavy damage, and unconscious. Some of Senri's blood got into your bloodstream, and now you have a bit of bear +Anima in you. We tried to contain it, but we were too late. We rushed you into the nearest home, and got you some medical attention, but you were still in grave danger. We tried to slow down Senri's blood from getting to your heart, so it is imperative that you keep your bandages on."

"Why do I absolutely need to keep them on?"

Gina took a deep breath, and said, "Because... Dog and Bear +Animas can't coexist in the same host. They're too close to the same thing. If Senri's blood gets to your heart, you could die."

My eyes got wide, as I tried to take this information in. I could die? No! "Is there anything that could be done?"

"No. I'm so sorry."

"Damn it! Well, I'm not giving up yet! I'm sure that there's someone or something somewhere that can save me. We better get going, if we want to keep me from dying."

"Right. Maybe Senri will come with us! I'm sure he would help us," Cooro suggested.

"I asked him already. He has other obligations," Husky said.

"Oh well. We'll just have to make do with what we've got," I said, determinedly. "Let's get going."

And so, we left town. On our way out, we saw Senri standing on a stump on the side of the road, and, after a few helpful words, he joined our group. Gina seemed really happy about it for some reason.

Will Cyrus be saved? Will there be intense friction between the members of our new group? Does Gina have a crush on Senri?

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**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Please R&R (Rate and Review)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, this is where the story really breaks off from the main storyline. Here it is! Also, I feel I should mention: There won't really be much of Nana in this story. Sorry for all you 'Nana' fans.**

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We walked on. We had left Abon about four days ago. We were now at a small, bustling town, called Octopus. It seemed like everyone in the town cared only about their business, and not other people's business, which is good, to some extent. But at this point, it just seemed rude. It felt like the others just wanted to waste time shopping and such. It really bothered me, but in my heart, I knew they had a good reason for it. I wanted to get a move on, because I didn't think we were going to find my cure here. This town was so busy, it was almost boring. Gina was off looking for some foods and spices, Husky was looking at some jewelry (?), and Cooro was off doing who knows what. I was waiting with Senri by town hall, our rendezvous point.

After what seemed like an eternity, the others returned. Gina had the food, Husky bought this thing that looked like a jeweled pole, and Cooro had this, ahem, "secret" jar of honey. I knew what it was because I heard him skipping down the street singing, "Honey, honey, yummy, yummy, honey!" That pretty much gave it away. Now that we were all together again, we decided to rest for a while, even though Senri and I were all set to go.

Gina must have sensed how tense I was, because she said, "Cyrus, relax. We just need a quick rest from shopping, then we'll hit the road, I promise."

When I couldn't handle the waiting any longer, I mindlessly yelled something at them, and stormed off. Don't ask me what I yelled, because I can't remember. I knew everything would be all right, because I knew Gina was already explaining to them how I had a little bit of a short temper. I must have been too tightly wrapped up in my thoughts, because I bumped into someone. They seemed in a good enough mood beforehand, then seemed really ill-tempered. "Hey, watch it!" he yelled, but because I was too preoccupied, I didn't say anything. That was when things turned ugly.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Don't just walk away!!" He grabbed me by the back of my neck, and flung me to the ground. It hurt...a lot. I rolled up to my feet, just as he was about to pile-drive me into the street. He left a dent about the size of my head in the ground. Pretty soon, there was a huge crowd around us, yelling, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" The man was back up on his feet, cracking his knuckles, and grinning maniacally. I just rolled my eyes, groaned, and rubbed my temples like I had a headache.

I had a lucky stroke at that moment. Just then, Gina and the others came in with some other guys who looked like they were in a gang, probably with the guy I was about to fight. They broke up the fight, but the fighter wasn't feeling like going without the fight. The police showed up and took care of him. I wanted to say something, but I suddenly had a searing headache, that made me feel like my head would split in two. We left the scene, and I was still groaning. Gina took a bottle out of her bag, poured some of the contained liquid into a spoon, and offered it to me. "Drink it," she said. What?! She wasn't serious. Was she?

I groaned. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, now, bottom's up!" And she poured it down my throat. Gehh...It tasted like something a cat ate, threw up, ate again, threw up again, then kicked sand on. (I'm really just exaggerating here, but at the time, it tasted a lot worse.)

"Ummm... Why did I drink that?"

"Two reasons. One: Because that will help your headache. Two: Because it will also slow the flow of Senri's blood to your heart."

"Hm. I see. Well, we better get a move on. Let's go!" And we left town.

Will there be a cure? Will the group still get along well? What new +Anima will we meet next time?

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**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Please R&R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, everybody! Sorry it took so long, but I was out of town. Anyway, I'm back, with another new chapter of...well, this! Enjoy!**

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The next day, we decided to leave Octopus, before I attracted even more trouble. Gina had packed everything up, and divided it, so that everyone had to carry the amount that was proportionally equal to him/her. I wanted to go see a certain town. It was rumored for its unique medicine history. I thought that the medicines there would help me, perhaps neutralize Senri's blood. I also hoped that I would get to see something..._else_...on the way there. I'm still not sure what it is at the moment, but I know that it has something to do with me becoming a +Anima.

"All right, people! Let's move out!" I yelled, and we set off. We walked for a little bit, and we reached a small town, named Lopsled. It was the town I had wanted to see. It was on a mountain, and looked like it was just perpetually snowy there. Cooro thought it looked like fun. Then, I explained to him that we had to keep going. He bargained with me, and we ended up reaching the agreement of staying for two hours. Husky and I walked through the town, while Gina, Cooro, and Senri went sledding. Well, actually, only Gina and Cooro went sledding. Senri was just a supervisor.

We walked for about fifteen minutes, until Husky exclaimed, "Hey! Look at that!" It was a magical cures shop. Magical Cures?! No way! What luck! I went inside, while Husky went to go look at some jewels, said to have special healing properties. Hm.

I went to the back of the shop, where I met the owner. She was an elderly woman, and I was more than a little sure that she was cracked. "Well, now, dearie, what can I do for you?"

"I have an...err...unique problem. Can you help me?"

"That depends. What happened?"

"It's kind of a long story."

"I've got nothing but time, son."

"Doesn't really look like it."

"Hah! I can see you've got a sharp tongue! Please, tell Granny Selia what your problem is." I relayed my problem to her, and she looked like she'd seen this... before...

"So? Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, it just so happens that there's a group of mystical gemstones in the world. They can cure any ailment, and stop anything. They can even unravel one's life." She said in little more than a whisper.

"Huh. Where might I find these stones? How many are there?"

"There are five. But, first, you must decode the clues."

"Clues, huh? Like a treasure hunt!" I said. "Except, the stakes are higher. Sounds fun."

"Thank you for coming. That will be fifty sapphires, please."

"Fifty? That's insane!"

"You want the info, you gotta pay the price."

"How about this: I leave, you drop the price, I don't kill you, and you forget that I was ever here." I said, with a snarl, lunging for her throat, my +Anima springing into action.

She didn't take too well to it. She started screaming, "Police! Help! Help! +Anima attack! +Anima attack!" She wouldn't shut up.

I cringed. I ran. That is, right into five police officers. "Alright, son. You're coming with us." They grabbed me, and took me to jail. I was thrown into a cold holding cell.

I cried for a few minutes. After a while, a strange man came in. "Well, hello there, Cyrus."

"You...know me?"

"How could I not know you? I know all about you."

"Who-who are you?"

"All in due time. Now, you have something I want."

"Wh-which would be...?"

"Your +Anima."

"Okay, I've met a lot of psychos in my life, but you're by far the weirdest. How are you going to take my +Anima? And, even if you could, I wouldn't let you!"

He sighed. "I knew you'd be like that. That's why we took the liberty of making this."

"What is it?"

"It's a little something that's going to make you take a little nap."

"Uh-oh. That doesn't sound good." I thought to myself. On the outside, however, I said, "You'll have to catch me first!" I broke the bars, and ran for it.

The man sprung into action. "Stop! Come back!" He sprouted wings that were brown, and majestic. Eagle, perhaps?

I yelled at the top of my lungs. He chased me all around the facility, and into a pure white room. When we went in, his wings retracted.

I looked down at my torso, and gasped. No fur. I gulped. He just stared around in awe. "Amazing. They actually finished it," he breathed.

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**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Well! Who is this man? What is so special about this room? Will Cyrus survive? All these answered and more next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, sorry, I couldn't update this one in a while. I was busy with other stuff. I apologize to anyone I disappointed. Anyways...LET'S GO!!**

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I was confused. Why had my +Anima stopped working? This didn't make any sense at all. The man, however, was still looking around in amazement. I decided to make a break for it, but I was stopped. The man had barred my path, and had grabbed my shoulders. "I want your +Anima. Give it to me! Now!"

"Not a chance. You want it, you're going to have to take it from me by force!" I stomped on his foot, backflipped out of his hands, and ran for the door. I got there before he did, and escaped from the room. Unfortunately, I still had to find my way out of the complex. "Why doesn't this place have a map?!" I said, and ran, my +Anima coming out at the same time. I didn't dare look behind me. The man was probably right on my tail, anyways. After twists, turns, dead ends, traps, and much cursing from me, I found it. The door. I opened it, and looked behind me. The man must have given up.

I went inside the door, and saw that I was in another room. In it, on a pedastal, was a stone. It was kind of pinkish, and had a natural sheen to it. A pearl, perhaps? I thought back to the old lady. "...group of mystical gemstones...five of them..." This must be it! I took it, and ran. I had only gone a short distance, when suddenly, a gaping hole opened up in front of me. Not in the ground, in the air. Just hanging. By this time, I was going too fast to stop, and ran headlong into it. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the town, the pearl in my hand.

"Whoa! This has got to be one of the gemstones that woman was talking about."

"Cyrus! There you are! Where the hell have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Gina! You'll never guess what just happened to me!" And I told her everything, from the shop to the dimensional hole.

"I've heard about those! It looks like you found one of them already. Now we need to find the other four."

"Hey, guys! Guess what!" Cooro was running toward us excitedly, with something behind his back.

"What is it, Cooro?

"I was sledding down the mountain, when all of a sudden, I see something shiny in the snow. I pick it up, and suddenly, I'm at the bottom of the mountain! It was so cool! Look!"

He showed us a diamond. Elegantly polished, and naturally so. This was probably another one of the five! "Cooro, can I have that? I need it for something."

"Sure. Take it. I don't feel so good after that." Gina gave him some medicine for that.

"Wait, where are Husky and Senri?"

"Oh, they went to get some food. We'll meet them at the bottom of the mountain. That is, if we're done here."

"Yeah. We're done here."

We left the town, but I couldn't help feeling that there was something following us. I dismissed it as me being paranoid.

We reached the base of the mountain, and I dropped my pack without noticing it. "Crud. My strap must have slipped. Hang on, wait for me, guys." I went back to get it, and I thought I saw a brown shadow. The...man again? No. There's no way.

I rejected the thought, and cast it out of my mind. I rejoined the others, and we continued on our journey. Our next stop was a port town, by the sea. This should be interesting!

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**Well, we never got to find out just who that man was, but I'll make sure that his identity is revealed at some point. Anyways...Cyrus has already found two of the five stones. What will happen next? What do the other stones control? Why am I asking you all these questions? Find out all this and more (well, maybe not that last one...) in the next chapter! Stay tuned, and please R&R.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I just want to start off by saying this: You dare bring light to my lair?! YOU MUST DIE!!!! (lightning shoots out of my fingertips...ouch) Okay, I got that out of my system. Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!!**

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I was thinking as we left town, "I wonder where the next three are? Maybe I'll find one here." We reached the port town, creatively named, "Port Town." Nice.

"Hey, what's that over there?" I looked where Cooro was pointing, and saw a stand, like one would sell things at. We went over there, and I saw, in a large glass case, a big blue jewel. As I looked at it, it seemed to sparkle, saying, "Yes! Yes! I'm the one! Take me! NOW!" I blinked, and I didn't sense it anymore. I looked at a sign hanging overhead, and it read as follows, "+Anima Triathlon! Tomorrow at 9 AM! Winner gets this lovely jewel!" It had an arrow on it, pointing down towards the gemstone.

"A triathlon, huh? Cyrus, do you think that the jewel could be one of the ones you're after?" Gina inquired.

"Could be. We should enter." I replied.

"Well, how about this. It looks like there's going to be a speed portion, a swimming portion, and a strength portion. I think we should enter Cyrus, Husky, and Senri." Gina suggested.

"It makes sense." Cooro said. "Cyrus for speed, Husky for swimming, Senri for strength."

"Well, what do you think, guys?" I asked my teammates.

"Well, it couldn't hurt... Okay. I'm in." Husky said.

"Sure..."

"Okay, then. Let's go sign up." We got registered, and left to set up camp.

That night, I dreamt. It was an awful dream, one that couldn't be recreated, even if the dreamer tried to make it. I was at the starting line for my portion of the race. I heard the announcer do the countdown. "GO!" he shouted, and everyone took off. Everyone but me.

I was instead on the ground, writhing in pain. No one stopped to help me, and no one even cared. Gina and Cooro were just standing by the starting line, staring blankly into space. My eyes suddenly snapped open, and I rose from the ground. My irises were red, and I ran towards the last person in front of me, a savage growl bursting from my throat. He turned around, and I lunged for him. We fell to the ground. He screamed, and I did not stop ripping and clawing until he was mutilated beyond recognition.

I looked up and began chasing the next person. She was a horse +Anima, and she saw me. She put on a burst of speed, but I quickly overtook her. I landed on her back, and she collapsed, a horrifying sound, like a whinny and a scream melded into one, came from her lips. I tore out her throat, and moved on. I captured, and annihilated everyone in that section of the race. I came upon Husky, waiting for me at the tag point.

"There you are. What took you so- AAAAGH!!!" He screamed as I leapt upon him and gouged his body, leaving it completely ravaged. I sprang easily over the water, and landed by Senri.

"...!!!" He didn't say a word as I began to assail him, clawing and tearing, my eyes wild beyond belief.

I finally got the upper hand, and swept his feet out from under him. He rolled over onto his back, his one eye wide with terror, and scrambled away from me. I destroyed everyone else at the second tag point. Soon, there was no one but me. I looked around me, and my eyes filled with tears, as I saw what I had done, even though, at this point, I didn't even care. I then began to rip out my own heart, and I clawed at it. It burned harsher than anything I had ever felt. When my heart had finally been removed, I howled, a heart-wrenching sound, as I fell over into the dirt, and died.

I woke up the next morning, my eyes wet with subconscious tears. I looked around the campsite, and everyone was just fine. I took several shuddering breaths to steady myself, and then proceeded to go back to my spot, and cry. I didn't want my dream to happen. Ever.

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**Hmmm... Well, what do you think this means? Tune in next time to find out. Well, you might not find out **_**next**_** time, but it will still be exciting!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, all. Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

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The morning greeted me with what seemed like a smug grin. It was mocking me, I'm sure. I looked around, to see if the others were up already, and they weren't. I realized that this would be the perfect time to meditate. I sat down, and assumed my position. I reflected on my dream, wondering what could have caused me to behave that way.

There was only one possible solution: Senri's blood was reaching my heart, and would be there soon. I wouldn't die, no. I wouldn't get off that easy. I would have to live with a punishment far worse. I would have to kill the ones I loved. A single tear crept out of the corner of my eye, and I batted it away, thinking, "No. I must be strong. There must be a way."

That was when the idea hit me. I could save myself, and if I couldn't, at least the others would be safe. I knew that I would have to leave. But, not now, no. I would need that jewel, and, in order to do that without putting thousands of innocent lives in peril, I would need to win the race, justly. I sighed, and kept thinking. What caused all this to begin with? Was it me? Something I had done? If so, what could it be? The questions stormed around in my mind, pounding against the backs of my eyes. I thought a moment more, then heard a small noise.

I looked to its source, and saw that Gina had stirred. She rolled back over, and the sight brought tears to my eyes. She was my closest friend in the world. I knew that leaving her would hurt her deeply. However, I also knew that if I didn't, and attacked her, I would hurt her even more, because she would feel guilty that she couldn't save me. I fought back tears, but tears won. I couldn't stop myself from crying. I couldn't tell them, either. They might follow me. If they did, who knew how badly I would hurt them? I would have to go alone...

_Later that day..._

We were lined up at the starting line. There was a wolf, an antelope, and a horse as my opponents. The last one brought my dream back to me. Didn't matter. I would win, and then I would leave. I would have to. The announcer started the countdown. "3!" My heart sped up. "2!" I leaned forward. "1!" My eyes narrowed.

"GO!" He ended it, then leaped out of the way of the racers. The wolf and I were right next to each other, neck and neck, but the horse was gaining on us. The antelope was dead last.

I looked out the corner of my eye, and saw the wolf do the same to me. "Don't bother trying. I'm going to win this." I muttered.

I heard her respond, "In your dreams, mutt." The last part didn't hurt me, but the "dream" did. She must have noticed, and sped ahead. I had gotten careless.

I growled, and ran ahead. She didn't stand a chance against me. I put on the speed, and, in a moment, she was way behind. I permitted myself one look back, and saw her eyes widen. She knew she would lose. I turned the corner, and saw the tag point. Husky was waiting there, already in the water. "Come on, Cyrus! Hurry!" He yelled. I reached him, and tagged him.

As I watched him speed off through the water, I saw something slightly different in his posture. It was a mix of sorrow, anger, and desperation. It must have been my imagination. The other water course participants were a seahorse, a manta ray, and a shark.

Half a minute after Husky left, the wolf tagged the seahorse, and he was off. Another half minute later, the horse trotted in, and tagged the manta. The antelope danced in a full minute later, tagging the shark, who zoomed through the water twice as fast as Husky did.

By that time, I knew Husky had already tagged Senri, so he didn't have to worry about the shark. From where I stood, I could see the other three contestants for the power segment. There was a giant scorpion-thing, a bull, and a lobster. All looked very powerful. However, I knew Senri would be victorious.

I decided to go back to the starting gate with the rest of the speed portion entries. I waited for about two minutes, and saw Senri leading the group, running towards the finish line, crushing every boulder in his way. He won by a long shot. We were presented the jewel, and we headed home.

_That night..._

I waited until everyone else was asleep, then packed up my things, and left. I left a note by Gina's sleeping bag. It broke my heart, but I'd rather that, than break her. I tiptoed until I could no longer hear their snoring, then dashed, my eyes stinging with tears. I reached the mountains in a matter of minutes. I found a nearby tree, took off my pack, and, still crying, slumped against the tree, sobbing. Not much time passed before I heard a familiar voice. Uh-oh.

"HA! I found you at last!!" It was the man from the snow town. Not good. "Now that I've found you, your +Anima is mine for the taking!" He injected me with some kind of venom before I could react, then, when he was sure I was incapacitated, slung me and my things across his back, and took off.

All that was left by the tree was a small tuft of fur.

* * *

**Well, that can't be good! Please R&R, as usual, and thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, you probably weren't expecting this, but we've reached our finale. I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone, but I wanted to have an ending soon, so here it is. Don't feel too bad, though! I'm revealing the identity of the mysterious winged man! "AT LAST!" you must be thinking. Well, anyway, enjoy!**

**A/N: Disregard almost that entire thing just now. As you can see in the next chapter, 'NOTICE!' I am recontinuing it! I just need a little time. Kay?**

* * *

Alone. I was so alone in this cold prison cell, which seemed to be in a lab of some sort. Lying on the floor, crying, writhing in pain, wondering when Death would arrive, and open the door, and force me to materialize in Hell. When will he be here? I didn't think Death would be tardy, not ever. Well, it's not like I could die more than once, so that I could expect that, but it sure felt like it sometimes. I wondered if I still had my +Anima with me, or if they had already taken it while I was unconscious. I wondered, but I lacked the will to try and check. That, and the fact that anytime I exerted any energy trying to get up, I'd get a nasty electric shock. I needed to be upright to activate my +Anima.

"Well! You're still alive! I'd have thought you'd be dead by now, trying to escape," the man with brown wings said. I lifted my head what little I could, without making me experience unbelievably excruciating pain, and fixed the man with my coldest glare, full of hatred and disgust. I could tell by his demeanor that I still had my +Anima. He was unhappy because he didn't have it yet. I held onto my +Anima with my heart. My heart. 'What of it?' my other half asked. Senri's blood... I reminded it. 'Yeah, so? We could lose our +Anima, you dunce!' my other half retorted, obviously distraught. Wait. My +Anima. Senri's blood. What had Gina said? "Dog and Bear +Animas can't coexist in the same host. They're too close to the same thing. If Senri's blood gets to your heart, you could die." That's why it would happen! My blood, and his blood. Just because our curses- 'No, not curses, gifts,' my other half reminded me. Right, whatever. Just because of those things, awful events would transpire. So... That's it! I didn't have to look any further for my salvation. I just needed to ask...

I needed to get up. I had to, or else I would die of different causes. Slowly, I mustered what microscopic strength I had left, and forced my body up from the ground. Slowly, slowly, I must get up slowly. I couldn't raise my eyes to see his face, but I knew that his expression was bemused. Why would this child even try to get up? No matter what he, or anyone else, thought, I would rise from the near-dead, and face my destiny head-on. I would take it at face-value.

"Take it."

"Excuse me?" The man looked absolutely bewildered.

"Don't make me say it again," I managed to say through gritted teeth. I grabbed onto one of the poles to help myself get up, my head still down, my body still negatively reacting to the pain. "Please, turn this awful device off. It makes everything much more difficult for me, and, by extension, for you."

The man at the device's controls looked at the man, and the man gave him the okay. The device was shut off, and I was able to stand up without pain. I walked over to the man, and grabbed his shoulders. "What do you mean, 'take it'? Take what?" the man asked, confused.

"My +Anima," I begged. "Take it. Take it and let me die," I pleaded, panic in my eyes, getting closer to his.

"But-" I stopped him before he could say another word.

"Please. I need to die. I need to leave now," I begged again. "Please," I whispered, falling to his feet.

He gulped. His face then turned determined, but I could sense his indecision. "Why?" was all he said.

"I haven't got much time, mister," I answered worriedly, my eyes immersed with pain.

"Can you explain quickly?" he asked, wanting to think that he wouldn't have to do what he wanted.

"I... I think so," I answered.

"Here, sit down," he said, pulling up a chair.

"Thank you," I returned, my gratitude effectively conveyed. I told him everything. Everything I was able to recall, which was everything since I met Gina at the circus. Everything including the fact that I was looking for those five special jewels. The second I said that, everything about him changed. He looked astounded that things were that serious. I also explained why I wanted him to take my +Anima.

"Well, it just so happens that you don't have to die. Not yet, at least," the man said. My eyebrows scrunched together, confusedly. "I happen to have the remaining two gemstones that you're looking for," he continued, at which point my eyebrows shot up and my eyes lit with excitement. He pulled them out of his pockets, along with the three that I'd already gathered. So, he'd rummaged through my bag. Nice. The two that I didn't have were amazing. One was an orange-yellow topaz, sparkling at every vertex, the other, a ruby, burning like a passionate heart. I gaped, dumbstruck. The man continued to elaborate, "As it turns out, these jewels don't actually have that much power alone. Together, though, they have the combined amount of all their powers, plus more. Unfortunately, it won't be enough to save you..." My spirits plummeted. "But, if I can utilize my +Anima, a hawk, and combine it with the powers of the gems, then we could probably take your friend's blood out of you."

I was overjoyed. I wouldn't hurt myself, and I wouldn't hurt anyone else, ever again! "What are we waiting for? Let's do it!"

* * *

I lay down on the table for the man, and closed my eyes. Peace, my soul. Peace. I felt my heartbeat slowing down, and I slowly went into a sleep-like state. I wasn't really asleep, but I wasn't completely aware of my surroundings. Then, the pain came. The pain felt like it would kill me. Was I dying? Had the man lied? No. He wouldn't. Rather, he wouldn't dare. Then, it just stopped. _'Cyrus,'_ a familiar voice said. _'Cyrus, wake up.'_ I could tell the voice was male, but I was unable to remember exactly who it was.

"Who are you?" I wanted to ask, but I lacked the strength to. The voice kept speaking. _'Arise,'_ it whispered. It whispered, and yet it still came through quite clear. _'Arise, and see what you have become.'_

Slowly, I opened my eyes. I saw a very familiar face staring at me. I sat up, and put my hands to my temples, immediately aware of the splitting headache encased within my skull. I groaned, and closed my eyes again. I felt the man put his hands over mine, and open my eyes forcefully.

He stared into my eyes, and I could sense his concern. Why, though? Why would he be concerned for me? "Are you alright?" he asked, his eyes filled with worry.

"Who...are you?" I replied, unsure of anything. God, his face looked familiar. Why couldn't I remember, though?

The man seemed a bit put out. "Well," he said huffily. "I would have thought that you'd be a little more grateful to see your father again, after being apart for 10 years." That's when it struck me. That was why this face looked so familiar. He was my father, and I'd always looked like him. It was familiar from seeing my own reflection in water and mirrors. It was different, though. He seemed a little more sophisticated, whereas I looked more feral. I was unsure of what to do next, though. What had happened to me? To my +Anima? I stood up from the table, and looked at my father, my posture showing that I was disoriented.

He was savvy to how his son felt, though, and how to interpret it. He held up a mirror, and I could see what I was. My +Anima was activated, and my eyes... Why were they different colors? One was my usual orange, the other blood red. I looked at my father, and blinked twice, indicating confusion. He elaborated on my newfound heterochromia. "Ah. Well, I managed to save you from your friend's blood, but I was a tad late, and some of it got to your eye, but only one." I nodded, showing that I understood. I found that I was dressed in some strange garb. I had on a traveler's tunic, and tan pants that were a trifle too big. I reached for the belt that lay on the table, and fastened around my waist. My dark brown hair, that usually hung down in front of my eyes, was now combed, only hanging over one eye now.

"But..." I struggled to find the right words to ask. "But, if you're my father, then why did you want my +Anima to begin with? And why did you act so violently?" I asked, my voice and eyes showing a puppy-dog-like helplessness.

"I'm sorry," he said, averting his eyes, like he was about to cry. "I should have never done those things to you, and I apologize. Please, let me explain, and you'll understand why I did those things. I told you that I had been watching you for some time, didn't I? When we were back at the lab in the snowy town?" I thought back, and I remembered his words.

"Yes, I remember," I said, for once making a complete thought. "And, I hadn't felt at all like you were stalking me at the time," I added sarcastically. He grinned sheepishly. He regained his composure (for three seconds) and hugged me, seemingly on the verge of tears. I'd never known this kind of love before. He wasn't crushing me, but he didn't seem like he wanted to let go.

"I don't want to lose you again," he whispered into my hair. My dark-brown, completely unkempt hair, that was so much like his. "After you ran away, I tried to follow you, but the storm stopped me, and so did the guards. It may not seem like much, after all that you've been through, but I want you to have this," he said, releasing me. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a pendant, with six different gemstones embedded in it, and handed it to me. I looked at it, and realized that they were the five gemstones that had saved me, all surrounding another. 'What was it?' I thought, struggling to recall what it was called. It was on the tip of my tongue...

"Amethyst," I breathed, unable to believe that this was really here. Amethyst was incredibly rare, especially in such large pieces, like the size of the one in the pendant.

"Yes, when I saved you, two parts of each jewel broke off. One of each went into the pendant, as it was being made, right before my eyes. The other ones of each kind fused together, and made that chunk of amethyst in the middle. I had intended on giving it to your mother, but then I thought that you might need it, just in case," my father said, with a meaningful look in his eyes. I leapt into his arms, and hugged him, as all of my past memories began flooding back to me. Nearly all the memories prior to joining everybody for the journey.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

_Age 5, Cyrus' family's house..._

"Cyrus! Come back!" my mother cried.

"No!" I cried, running against the wind. The wind that was trying to force me back to those people. People who didn't care for me at all. My parents were trying to sell me to some rich people so that the rich people could have me as a servant when I grew up. I didn't want that, so I ran away.

"You there! Child! Come back here this instant!" The rich man was calling for me to come back to him. Back to him, and the life of slavery that waited for me there, with him. Not for me! So long, jerk! "Guards! After him!"

"Uh-oh," I gasped, and looked behind me to see that the rich man's guards were high-tailing it after me. 'If only I were a dog,' I thought, still running for my freedom, my life. 'Then, they would never be able to catch me.' I felt a tingling sensation in my torso, and felt the dress tunic I was wearing get really hot and stuffy. I ripped it off with ease, and continued running. The guards were still catching up to me, just not as quickly now.

'I need a strategy,' I deliberated quickly. 'That's it!' I realized soon after, and I leapt sideways into the forest, running deep to its heart. I could hear them still chasing me, so I jumped up to grab hold of a tree branch, and swung myself up on top of it. I grabbed another branch close by, and, with my newfound strength, tore it from the trunk easily. I waited for the first guard to run by, then swung my branch. *konk* The man lay on the forest floor, unconscious. The next man ran by, and *konk*, he was immobile, resting at the foot of the tree. I jumped down, and dragged the first man to lie next to the second, and drove my branch into the ground, trapping both of their sleeves. Surely this would be a sign to leave me alone!

I heard the other guards running up behind me, and knew that it was time to go. I took off, and I could hear the men's terror as they saw what had happened to their teammates. I smirked to myself, **_(If you've never seen a five-year-old smirk, it's really cute, but at the same time, really scary... _o.o)** and ran further. I sprinted onwards, until I finally ran out of energy and crashed into the town hall of the town that I would unknowingly visit ten years later, Port Town. A kindly old couple living there took me in, and brought me back to health. I stayed for a week, then left, because I felt like I had to keep moving. I didn't know that the guards had come to the town following me, and killed the couple who helped me, simply because they helped me. They didn't know who I was, but they were kind, yet were punished for it. It sickened me when I found out later.

**_***END FLASHBACK***_**

**_***OTHER FLASHBACK***_**

_Age 11, 'Town with Unknown Name'..._

I first met Gina here. I was at the local restaurant, and I saw a girl pleading with the owner for some food, because she was low on money.

"Please! I don't have any money left!" I heard her plead.

I could see that the owner was still refusing her, so I got up and walked over. I left the cost of my meal with the man, plus a little extra, and walked towards the door. "Uh, sir?" Oh, sure, now he acts all virtuous. "You've given me more than your bill."

"No, I didn't," I replied. "That extra money isn't for you," I said with a somewhat derogatory tone. "It's for her," I finished, looking towards Gina, whose name I didn't actually know yet. "See you around." The bell on the door dinged as I walked out.

"Hey, wait!" I heard her call after me. I turned to see her running after me. It was snowing outside, and she looked pretty cold without a coat. She accidentally tripped on her way over here, and I caught her as she fell. I stood her back up on her feet, then gave her my coat, because I didn't need it. Fur coat, remember? Upon seeing me with only a thin tunic on, she cried, "Oh, no, I can't take this. You need it more tha- Oh," she finished suddenly, seeing my +Anima activate.

"See you later," I said, and started walking off. I heard her gasp, as she nearly fell again, and I laughed. "You're truly hopeless, aren't you?" I asked, and turned around to find her right behind me, with her +Anima activated, snake tail and everything. "Ooohhh..." I said slowly, thinking, 'Well, I guess she's not totally hopeless after all!'

"Thank you," she said, switching off her +Anima. "You left this in the coat pocket on accident," she added, taking out a small pouch of coins.

"I don't do anything on accident," I assured her. "Do you want me to wait out here, while you go get some food?"

"You can come inside if you want," she replied worriedly.

"Nah, I'm probably not welcome inside, looking like this." I gestured to my torso. "It wouldn't be different if I had it switched off, either."

"Oh. Will you wait here, then?" she asked, hopefully.

"Sure."

When she came out again, we walked and talked, and that's when I found out that her name was Gina, and she'd run away from home, too. We traveled together for about two and a half weeks, before we had to split up again.

"Good luck, wherever you go," she said, as she bade me farewell.

"You, too," I replied, smiling. We turned away from each other, and went our separate ways. I didn't see her again for another four years.

**_***END FLASHBACK***_**

**_***OTHER FLASHBACK (DON'T WORRY, THIS IS THE LAST ONE)***_**

_Age 13, Various Places..._

"Stop! Thief!"

I stopped, and turned towards the sound. A man with a bag overflowing with jewels and precious metals, and another man, with a shopkeeper's apron, rounded the street corner, both at breakneck speed. I turned around and walked into the nearby alleyway. I felt my arms strengthen, and I lashed out at the man as he ran into the alley I was already occupying.

"AAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!" The police and the shopkeeper walked in, to see the man, bound and gagged, lying on the ground, with the bag close by. Attached to the bag was a note: "You're welcome," along with a tuft of my fur.

I watched them take the thief to jail from the rooftop nearby, and I smiled to myself, thinking, 'What would towns like these do without me?'

Two months after I left Gina, I got completely fed up with all the injustice surrounding +Anima, and decided to do something about it. I couldn't really do it publicly, so I did it in secret, so nobody knew it was really a +Anima doing it. I left little hints that it was, though, just in case somebody had enough sense to figure it out. I traveled from town to town, doing good deeds, in hopes that someday, the prejudice would be banished forever. It was a pretty lofty goal, I'll admit, but still, I tried. I had no specific map planned out in my head, so I just played it by ear, roaming from place to place. Nothing really happened until I went to the circus in two more years...

**_***END FLASHBACK***_**

I stepped back from my father's arms, and I smiled, tears streaming from the corners of my eyes. I didn't want to leave him again. I could only imagine how much pain I'd caused him.

"I'm... so sorry... Father..." I said between sobs.

"Please, you mustn't call me 'Father' anymore."

"...?" I looked into his eyes to see if there was some hidden meaning to this.

"You're a man, now. Call me by my first name, as is our family tradition. Call me... Roland," he finished, a proud look in his eyes. "I can't believe I just found you again, and you're already a man. All by yourself, too."

"Well, I did kinda have help... Holy crap! Where are they? They're probably worried sick!"

"Oh, your friends? I already found them, and I brought them back here with you. They're waiting just outside that door over there," and he pointed to it.

"Okay, just one more question first. Why did you do all those cruel things before, even though you're my father?"

He looked stunned for a moment. "I... I don't know. It's like I was being possessed. When you told me to take your +Anima, it must have surprised whatever was possessing me, and weakened it enough for me to take control. I think..."

"Do you still have your +Anima?" I asked.

"Yes, I... I think so," he said uncertainly, and his great chocolate-colored wings unfolded. "Yes, I still have it."

"Super! Now, I want you to meet my friends," I replied excitedly, rushing to open the door. I opened it to greet the completely unexpected.

*slap* "You idiot! What were you thinking, running off like that? I was out of my mind with worry! Do you have any idea how guilty I'd feel if something happened to you?"

"Ouch. No, but I did think of how guilty you'd feel if I went berserk and attacked people," I replied hastily, rubbing my cheek where Gina had slapped me.

*slap* "And you! If you've done anything bad to him, I swear I'll- huh?" Gina found herself being pulled off of my father by Senri.

"Gina, this is my dad, Roland. Roland, this is my friend, Gina," I introduced sheepishly.

"Oh my god, what happened to your eyes?" Husky yelled, noticing this now.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some newly acquired heterochromia, that's all," I assured him. Upon seeing everyone's confusion, I added, "My eyes are just different colors due to the operation that saved my life."

"So, we were planning on going traveling some more. Do you want to come?" Cooro asked.

"Mmm... No, thank you. I haven't seen my father in ten whole years. I want to catch up a little bit, perhaps right some wrongs. I'll see you later, though," I said wistfully.

"Oh. Okay, then. Goodbye, Cyrus," Husky said.

"Bye, Cyrus," Cooro added, looking slightly downcast.

"...Goodbye..." Senri said quietly.

"Gina, are you going with them?" I asked her.

"...No," she finally replied. "No, I think I'll go on my own travels. I've wanted to see some parts of the world that haven't been discovered yet. I want to make important discoveries." Upon seeing the others' sad faces, she added, "Well, maybe we'll see each other on our travels. Who knows?"

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, then," I said to the others.

"Guess so," Cooro added.

"Goodbye," Husky said, and they walked off.

"Bye, you guys! See you later!" I yelled after them.

"Goodbye, everyone!" Gina called. She hugged me one last time, and I caught her arm as she turned away. "Not so fast. You're not leaving. Not without me."

"What?"

"I just need you to stay here for a while. For me. Stay, and we can travel together, just the two of us! Just like we planned to."

She smiled, and said, "Sounds great." We walked inside together, where my dad was waiting for us.

It was finished.

* * *

**OWATA!**


End file.
